TikTok and promotions. Are they worth the hype?
TikTok has become the fastest growing app on the planet with over 2 billion downloads since its launch in 2016. Under lockdown the video app’s appeal has spread from young to old as its playful mix of music, dancing, celebrities, and memes brings joy and connection to those searching for new outlets during the Covid-19 crisis. As experts in running promotions across social media our Managing Director, Shelley Davies, considers how some brands are already taking advantage of the TikTok phenomenon.
TikTok in numbers
- The no.1 app downloaded from the App Store
- 315m downloads in Q1 of 2020
- 800m monthly active users
- Average user spends 52 minutes per day on it
- Average of 80 minutes usage for under 16s
- 83% have uploaded a video
- Available in 154 countries and 75 languages worldwide
Chipotle – a prize worth winning
What do free delivery, free queso and a Chipotle sponsorship have in common? Chipotle combined them in their #ChipotleSponsorMe competition. The prize was one of five ‘Celebrity Cards’ worth $8,000 which entitled the holder to a free meal every day for a year! Followers had to post a creative Chipotle TikTok video to enter and get free queso and delivery thrown in too. The hashtag received over 2b views.
Pretty Little Thing – spreading the word is key
TikTok followers are less brand conscious than those on Instagram – consider that Calvin Klein only less than 20k followers on the platform. Global fashion brand, Pretty Little Thing, has gained popularity on the platform by using lots of popular influencers to share promotion posts. These promotions are usually simple “Like and Comment” prize draws that are easy to run on a global scale.
Kind Snacks – join in the creativity
The snack bar’s #KINDsimplecrunchcontest hashtag has received over 73m views and even involved a novel way to display their T&Cs via a TikTok video from the brand’s founder. Followers had to make a TikTok featuring a KIND bar and the hashtag to win a trip to New York and a year’s supply of bars. The winner was chosen simply by the most video views over a 3 week period and resulted in some of the most inventive videos on the platform.
Crocs – getting in on the action
Crocs only joined the platform in October and already has nearly 200k followers because of existing TikTok challenges involving the iconic shoes. Based on a line from the Post Malone track, the #ThousandDollarCrocs challenge encouraged followers to show off what their $1,000 Crocs would look like, celebrating the uniqueness of individuals who use TikTok, in a $1k in a prize draw. In total the hashtag received over 3b views!
These are just a small selection of brands harnessing the power of TikTok’s popularity using promotions. Sponsored hashtags, brand takeovers, 3D lenses and stickers are other, more expensive ways for marketers to promote their brands. But our Point of View would be to first to consider if the app is the right place to target your demographic. If it is not users will be cynical about a brand that does not really ‘belong’. And remember that asking a follower to interact with a brand on TikTok requires more time and content creation than a Facebook ‘like and share’ – so prizes need to be valued too.